REMOVAL OF PAHs BY SORBENT FROM FLUE GAS DURING MSW INCINERATION

Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate the removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by sorbent injection from the flue gas during municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration. For this purpose, the incineration tests of MSW were performed in a fluidized bed incinerator and the influence of sorbent on PAHs was studied. The samples analyzed were taken from the raw MSW, the flue gas, the fly ash, and the bottom ash. The 16 PAHs specified by the U.S. EPA were analyzed by a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results obtained show that there were a few PAHs in the raw MSW and the bottom ash. The total PAHs in the fly ash and the flue gas were dominated by 3- to 5-ring PAHs and 2- to 4-ring PAHs, respectively. The removal efficiency of PAHs increased with the rise of activated carbon, and the removal efficiency of PAHs by kaoline was better than activated carbon and activated bauxite. PAHs could be effectively removed by sorbent injection from the flue gas during the MSW incineration.